Living the semi-wired life

Unwiredness is one of the luxuries of life in my green schoolbus on the bluff. No wifi, no smart phone, no wires. I have a battery-operated radio but the reception is crap. When I want to hook up I carry my computer down the cliff trail and along the ocean boardwalk to the farmhouse. It is only a 5-minute commute, but that distance makes all the difference in the world.

I climb down the cliff and sit myself down here under the patio umbrella, log on, send off my queued emails, download my mail and maybe a podcast or two for later listening. Check my twitter feeds and analytics, and the Tideline for island gossip and news. Do a little blogging, send and receive a few graphic files. Log out, feed the chickens, pick some kale. Then climb back up to my bus on the bluff, to work and practice and play.

The semi-wired life is a balm for my brain. I feel calm and unhurried. I do one thing at a time: devote myself to washing my undies in a bucket, or writing, or observing my evening otter in his fish-eating routine. With no impulse to check this or that I unitask like a maniac. My mind like a radio, free of static, clear, and precisely tuned.

The semi-wired life affords maximum productivity. With few distractions my work flows easily and is finished quickly. When i can only do one thing at a time with my computer I get a lot more done, and then usually there is time for a bike ride or a forest hike. Which means that at day’s end I sleep well, in my bus under the stars. Living the semi-wired life.

Oh my, i eat like the Queen of the World up on my bluff … not too fancy with cooking on a 2-burner hotplate and a 1-cubic-foot fridge, but I dish up gourmet grub. Come for dinner soon. I’m off to california til June 1 but please let me know if you decide to roll up this way.

Oh! I know exactly what you are talking about. I spent this past week in silent retreat at home. No electronics or clocks. Ate food from the veggie garden, zazen, kinhin, good study, samu, long solitary walks, staring at the forest and water behind the house in the early evening. (I watch an otter fish the water also.) Anyone can be blessed with slow living now and then. I’m happy that it’s a daily way of life for you. I’m sure I’ll read about California in a later blog.